This invention relates to a toilet seat hinge assembly for mounting a toilet seat on a toilet for pivotal movement between an up position and a down position, and in particular to a toilet seat hinge assembly that automatically moves the seat from the up position to the down position after the toilet is flushed.
It is well known that after raising a toilet seat to use the toilet, many men fail to return the toilet seat to its down position. This is unsightly, and can be an inconvenience to subsequent users. The present invention provides a hinge assembly that is adapted to pivotally mount a toilet seat for pivotal movement between an up position and a down position, and which also automatically lowers the seat from its up position after detecting that the toilet has been flushed.
The toilet seat hinge assembly of this invention is adapted to replace the conventional hinge on a toilet to mount a toilet seat on a toilet for pivotal movement between an up position and a down position. Generally, the toilet seat hinge assembly of this invention comprises at least one hinge member for attachment to the seat, and pivotally mounted so that the seat can pivot between an up position and a down position. A spring resiliently biasing the seat to its down position. A lock releasably holds the seat in its up position against the bias of the spring. A flush detector detects when the toilet is flushed, and releases the lock, thereby allowing the spring to bias the toilet seat to its down position. Preferably, a second spring which resiliently biases the toilet seat upwardly with less force than the spring that resiliently biases the shaft to rotate from the up position to the down position, to slow the movement of the seat from the up position to the down position. The hinge assembly is particularly adaptable for the conventional tank type toilets found in most residences. In this case, the flush detector can comprise a sensor for sensing the drop in the water level in the tank that occurs when the toilet is flushed. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the lock is a solenoid having a plunger biased to engage the seat against rotation when it is in the up position, which when energized disengages the seat to permit the seat to rotate under the bias of the spring to its down position.
The hinge assembly of the present invention is thus of simple, an relatively inexpensive construction. It can be easily retrofit on existing toilets. It uses a minimum of power relying upon a spring for the motive force to move the toilet seat downwardly, and only energizing the solenoid lock briefly to release the seat when toilet has been flushed. A second spring counteracts the force of the first spring to prevent slamming of the toilet seat.
These and other features and advantages will be in part apparent, and in part pointed out hereinafter.